


The Forgotten Survivors

by warryo72



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Canon Universe, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, On Hiatus, Pre-Dangan Ronpa, Side Story, Thriller
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-09-22 04:11:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9583043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/warryo72/pseuds/warryo72
Summary: Somehow, the 78th class managed to escape the massacre of Hope's Peak as Reserve Course students killed their fellow Ultimate peers. Their efforts, though relatively ignored and, depending on the student, utterly pointless in the end, are still important in weaving through the story of this corrupted school and the battle between Hope and Despair. If they hadn't survived, perhaps we wouldn't have had a story to tell. **ON TEMPORARY HIATUS**





	1. Despair Imitation

Stay inside the building. That's what their teacher had told them, correct? It wasn't exactly hard to see the numerous Reserve Course students bombarding the gates into campus, they knew where the "danger" was coming from. This whole stupid "parade" had been going on for days now, requiring all Main Course students to be escorted to and from classes, their dorms, the dining hall, everywhere. The tension was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. But more than that, everything has turned so boring, leaving homeroom to be more like a safety shelter than anything. All members of the 76th, 77th and 78th classes were all caught up in a perpetual tornado of uncertainty not only from their fellow peers protesting outside but as well as the staff: no one wanted to tell them much and most of them could tell when they were trying to sugar coat the truth, not tell them everything.

But at least they were safe, right? Security wouldn't let them through, they just had to wait it out, not matter how much anxiety wafted through the air. Makoto Naegi wanted to believe that so badly, wanted to just sit down at his assigned desk, wait a little while, and then stand up to see that the crowd was magically gone. It wasn't that hard to think that, right? He stood in front of the large glass window, running from floor to ceiling, brow creased worryingly. The gentle rain that had been going since that morning pitter pattered against the glass, obscuring his view only slightly as the small drops of water slid down the pane of the window.

"It's not going to help just standing there watching them." Ah leave it to Kirigiri to be the voice of reason. He knew she was right, of course, and maybe it was just some kind of morbid curiosity that kept him there for a second longer before he sighed quietly and moved to plop back in his desk, resting his chin on his arms as they crossed over his desk.

"I know why they're so angry. After all, I could never afford the high tuition they have to pay, and if I hadn't gotten chosen for that lottery that would be the only chance I ever would've had to get into this school..."

"But you did get chosen." The lavender-eyed detective crossed her arms, gloves squeaking slightly as they gripped the material of her jacket. "And that means you deserve to be in here with us, not out there."

Naegi blinked suddenly, sitting upright with a slight flush. "W-wh--I never s-said I didn't deserve--!"

"You didn't say it, but your tone implied it." As blunt as usual.

The luckster sighed quietly. But she was right, he knew that much. Even though he knew why they were angry, there was no reason as to why they had to protest so angrily. After all, they did chose to be here, right? They could have stopped at anytime? Something wasn't fitting together quickly, and by the look in Kyoko's eyes he could tell she had been mulling it over for awhile as well.

He glanced across the rest of the classroom, smiling a little. At least his other classmates were trying not to think about what has going on out there. Their class and stature made them essentially the babies of the school after all, maybe it was just unfamiliar territory? Who knows, maybe this happened at Hope's Peak a lot--he didn't really doubt it. They all seemed preoccupied with being normal dorky teenagers though, just like any other class would be without a teacher present.

Brash and wiggly Leon Kuwata was the closest to him, aside from Kirigiri, watching as Celeste and Oowada continued their game of Poker--double or nothing, wasn't that the last thing the biker had proclaimed? The baseball star snickered, pushing on Mondo's broad shoulder teasingly. "I mean, I know that this is her talent and all that, but I don't think that she'd even need to be that good to kick your ass like this."

The biker turned his angry stare on him, short fuse having already been lighted. "Yeah? And who asked you, ya' little punk?"

"Well no one, but I thought I should just let'cha know." Leon smirked the smuggest smirk that ever smirked, fluffing up the collar of his white jacket twice.

"Don't make me sock ya' in the jaw again."

"G-guys come on don't fight!" Timid little Chihiro Fujisaki's voice sounded, clutching his small hands together. It seemed to work like magic as both the arguing teens blinked down at him, now with considerably softer looks. 

"Aww, c'mon, we're just kidding! Don't worry about it, small stuff, Oowada's too soft to actually hit me." Leon winked, ruffling the programmer's hair. Mondo scowled, swatting at his hand.

"Don't do that. Stop trying to garner up sympathy."

"I have three kings, all in the heart suit~"

The biker looked back at the gambler, a vein popping in his forehead. "How the hell are you doing that?! I swear, if you're cheating--"

Celeste merely smiled her "pretty" smile. "I have no idea what you mean."

"You're a simpleton if you expected to beat the Ultimate Gambler at a card game." Togami spoke, still looking (glaring?) down at the book he was trying so hard to focus on. Like it or not, morbid curiosity fell over him as well to just peek out the window, just to see what was going on out there. "It's like expecting to throw a fast pitch than Kuwata or write a best seller that tops Fukawa's..."

"Or rack up a body count that far surpasses the triple digit count." The gambler's smile remained, shining red orbs shifting to where Toko was sitting right behind Byakuya. "That is what the police suspected, yes?"

The ends of her purple braids flared in annoyance as the writer glared at her classmate. "L-look that's not my problem! Y-you know we don't s-share any memories..."

"That is awfully convenient, is it not?"

"Don't pick on her." Aoi Asahina's voice sounded from the front of the room, cheeks puffed out slightly into a pout as she continued her push ups. All of this waiting around was making her antsy and the best way to combat that was with some good ol' fashion exercise. "It doesn't matter what she does, Syo is just as much a part of our class as 'Kawa is."

Toko looked a little gloomy at that. "No she's not..."

"This argument is about as stale as a saltine cracker, can we end it now." Togami snapped to shut all three of them up. It was a common talking point, Toko's split personality. But the attention on the writer caused her to blow a fuse each time, so much so sometimes she would pass out and bring forth the subject of their discussions. But Syo was safe--dare they say tame--and wouldn't harm them. At least usually. There was no need to beat a dead horse of a conversation.

"When is our sensei supposed to return? She specifically said that she was going to check in with the headmaster and then return." Ishimaru looked concerned as he glanced towards the door. Ever emotional himself, he was very keen to all the emotions around him and he didn't like it. Everything was pulsing with tension and fear.

"Hey, don't worry 'bout it, Kyoudai. She'll be back soon. I'm sure that takin' a break from all of us is something she needs." Mondo offered him a wink. The Hall Monitor managed a small smile at that but looked far from reassured.

Naegi glanced back over to the window, frowning a little as he watched the group at the gate seem to progress further and further, some jumping the gate and trying to rush into the main part of the campus, only to be denied by the security team. It was madness, truly. It scared him, and no doubt scared all of them. But they all stayed put, for what seemed like hours. Togami had more than once attempted to convince his classmates to leave, bothered and annoyed at the whole facade that was keeping them out of the loop--it was normal for him to try and take command. Finally Oowada grabbed Leon under his arms and plopped the baseball star down on the heir's lap to act like some makeshift paper weight. The latter didn't mind exactly, talking off his boyfriend's ear immediately once he was seated on top of him like he hadn't been moved at all, grinning widely.

And so they waited. And waited. And continued to wait.

No one seemed to question where Enoshima or her twin sister were; they had a habit of keeping to themselves, usually.

Kirigiri wanted to speak with the headmaster. Naegi wanted to stop looking out the window. Fukawa wanted to stop feeling that jealous sting inside her seeing someone else taking up Togami's attention. Mondo wanted to head over to the dorms so he could pick up his bike and go on the drive to let go of all the tension.

All lost in thought, they never saw it coming.

As if announcing the villains like a play, the sky seemed to darken and a sort of deadly silence echoed not just in the building but also outside. The whole of the 78th class seemed to stop in unison and gather to the window to watch, watch as hell was raising up from the Earth to swallow them up. Reserve Course students bearing guns, bats, machetes and more, walking like an army across the campus. 

It was like a horror movie taking place.

Chihiro felt his knees grow weak from the fear, the small limbs quaking and then giving out from under him as he covered his mouth. "W-what...what's happening..."

"So, the school's abused pets are finally raising up to defy their masters. Heh, I'd be lying if I said I didn't see this coming." Togami snorted, adjusting his glasses.

"This...this isn't right." Naegi's eyes were wide with fear. They were coming towards the building, they were nearly at the front doors. They...weren't really intending to kill them, were they?

"We need to get the fuck outta here." Their resident biker's voice rose up immediately, glancing towards the door. "They'll be up to this floor within the next twenty minutes, we don't got a lot of time."

"And how do you purpose we get past them? Clearly the front door isn't an option."Celeste spoke up almost politely. She glanced back as Sakura stood straighter, a sudden protectiveness in her eyes as the powerful orbs glanced over all her classmates. 

"Yes we can. Syo and I can clear a path for you all to escape unscathed."

"W-what?!" Fukawa all but squeaked, flinching as everyone focused in on her.

"Now is not the time to argue!" Ishimaru spoke up, fists clenched. "There has to be an alternative option beside throwing our two best fighters out in the middle of that fray!" Naegi swallowed softly. That had to be true, and what of their two classmates that were currently MIA? Would they be alright? Would they know where to go?

However, the familiar face of their homeroom teacher, her face pale as death, was still comforting nonetheless as she gripped the door frame with shaking fingers, looking at them all with eyes that were filled with a deathly fear.

"...Hope's Peak has been compromised. It's not safe here anymore, we need to evacuate you all."


	2. An Unknown Despair

The first thing that knocked them free of the grip of fear was the explosion right above them, on the 20th or so floor. It had been so loud, so booming, it had knocked a few of them to their knees. Chihiro was shaking like a small dog and Hifumi's screech, although clearly involuntarily, made the Ultimate Gambler glare threateningly at him. Their teacher had given them hasty directions to the underground shelter system, set up usually for earthquakes and hurricanes, before rushing down the hall, trying to warn as many students as she could.

"What? N-now that she told us what to do, the b-burden is off her shoulders?" Toko snapped bitterly, glaring at the door. In truth, her stomach was doing back flips at the reminder of what she was going to have to do.

"More than likely there is one or more teachers per floor to warn the students." Kirigiri touched her chin with a soft hum, immediately turning away from the window, away from the incoming danger. "I don't think we should waste any time."

"But...but everyone else..." What was going to happen to all their fellow peers? Would they be warned in time? Was this shelter going to be able to hold them all? 

"I for one am not staying here waiting for kingdom come to fall around us." Togami was also walking towards the door. "The longer we wait here, the longer we run the chance of perishing by the hands of our washed up campus friends."

Naegi swallowed. Their teacher had said it, like it wasn't being hidden anymore. The Reserve Course students were wielding weapons of all kinds and had already killed some students on the ground floor. It was almost too surreal to think about, to think that these kids were going to try and murder them. The luckster was still hoping this was all just a bad dream he was going to wake up from soon enough.

"I agree, we need to move out now while we still have the time." Sakura muttered, glancing to the side to watch Asahina take Fukawa's hand gently, stopping the shaking that had enveloped the writer's palms. "Right now we have the information we need to get out of here safely, and some time to back it up."

Mondo was cracking his knuckles with a glare. "I don't care if we gotta' beat them down to get to our safe spot, I'm ready to do it. And you..." He huffed in Leon's direction. "Will you put that fucking thing to good use?" He nodded to the bat that the redhead had resting over one shoulder.

"Dude, do you not know me at all?. I don't mind cracking a few skulls open with this~" He took a few practice swings with a grin.

"Only if necessary. Otherwise we're just as animalistic as them." Togami warned, giving the baseball star a pointed glare, which immediately made the boy shrink back a bit.

The first steps into the hall were ones of caution, fear sprinkled in as some of them peeked around. There was rumbling beneath them, but the floor they were one was currently deserted. Not even any other classrooms were occupied at this point.

"R-right, where did she say to go again?" Naegi was glancing towards the direction of the stairs and elevator, as if expecting their attackers to appear at any second.

"We have to go down a few floors, but there is a small service elevator that leads straight down into the shelter." Kirigiri didn't waste anytime. "But not all of us can fit at one time so we need to be quick about this to give everyone allotted time."

But what would happen if they didn't have enough time? What would happen if they left some people behind? Naegi swallowed back his fear, being the first to follow the detective as her boots clicked in the direction that he was wary of the most. She had no fear. Why couldn't he be more like her?

Each step was like torture on his nerves and he could feel the tension from everyone else as well. Every little rumble or scream or jolt of the building would make Chihiro stop, almost unable to keep walking on trembling legs. Togami and Celeste looked the same as ever, calculating in their heads no doubt what needed to be done once they reached their destination. Kirigiri was still a step ahead, stopping at the first landing, holding her hand up for a minute, before continuing down. The floor below them was in a different kind of shape, Ultimates taking to boarding up the doors to barricade themselves in, in case the worst happened.

"Tch. Fools, they'll be dead before the doors come down."

"Byakuya...!" Hina glared at him.

"No, he's right. Trying to bar themselves off isn't going to accomplish anything besides trapping them. They're practically making their own coffins." The detective muttered, not even stopping as she started for the second set of stairs.

"W-wait...wait we should warn them...!" Naegi stared at the two of them, expression in disbelief. "We can't just leave them--"

"It's them or it's us." The heir was a little more forceful than he normally would have, grabbing the luckster's sleeve to keep him in place. "There's barely going to be enough time for us to get out, we don't need any hysteria following us. Now let's go." He shoved him in place right behind Kirigiri again, falling in step behind him as well. Ishimaru glanced down the mostly empty hall before looking away a moment. He couldn't help but already feel guilty, just abandoning their peers like this. 

Going down the second set of stairs took more time than the first, more careful footsteps sounding in unison as the 78th class pressed closer together, finding comfort in the group they made waddling down each step. Leon glanced behind them every few seconds, pale blue eyes flickering at each grumble from the floors below. The lower they went, the more it sounded like a war zone on the first floor...then the second floor...then the third.

By the time they reached the floor they needed, the sound below them was getting steadily louder and closer. Chihiro clung to Mondo's arm, eyes squeezed shut fearfully. It was going to be over soon, everything was going to be fine... Kirigiri was the first one that found the elevator shaft, sitting near the bathrooms, tucked near the corner. It wasn't as big as the main elevator, as the teacher had said, but it did look big enough for at least four or five of them, if they all squished together. Pressing the button and waiting for the doors to slowly open up, she turned to look behind her. "Let's not waste any time."

Mondo nodded at that and moved to pick up the programmer that was hugging his arm tightly and placed him inside with a pat on the head. "You first, al'ight?" 

"O-okay..."

"Don't worry, I'll watch over him, big guy."Asahina was the first to move after that--having already made Fukawa's cheeks red with a peck on the lips--standing right beside her smaller classmate.

Sakura crossed her arms, strong and powerful gaze focusing on the swimmer. "Be careful." she warned. 

"You go too." Togami turned to look at Leon, grabbing the white sleeve of his favorite jacket and pulling him in the direction of the elevator. "And before you start whining, no this is not a request."

The spirtfire glared a little bit. "I'm not a delicate little girl that needs protection..."

"Not usually. But knowing you're out of harm's way directly will help me focus better." He smirked a little bit at him, squeezing his arm. "I trust you're not going to waste time arguing with me?"

"No..." he grumbled but moved to step inside beside Asahina, pushing her when her elbow half-buried in his ribs. "Hey, what the hell--oww!"

"Stop squirming." the swimmer hissed, moving aside a little as Sayaka squeezed in beside her, her petite frame barely taking up any space at all. 

"You should go as well." Kirigiri said, turning to look at Naegi with serious lavender orbs. The way that she was looking at him left no room for arguing, left no room to say or do anything else other than getting in the damn box with his other classmates. Makoto swallowed as she just stared at him for a few seconds, staring right through him.

"..." He didn't want to leave her alone up here, but he doubted anyone else wanted to do the same. And the faster that he got in and got out, the faster the fest of them would follow. He gave an unsure little nod and stepped forward. His legs were still shaking. As soon as he burrowed in next to Leon, he looked out at the remainder of his classmates, breathing in and out slowly. They were the strongest that they had, but together they all had hope. A hope that would overcome this.

"...See you at the bottom." he said softly, eyes locking with Kirigiri's up under the doors to the elevator shut, separating him immediately from the danger that was no doubt creeping up on them.

He hadn't heard her answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad I'm not the only one--or am in the minority--that was disappointed with the lack of the 78th class in DR3. The first game was my first leap into the fandom, and it saddens me to know there are characters that still remain a mystery.


	3. Doomsday Machine

It was a long elevator ride down, the smoothness of the ride not helping as it gave the illusion that they weren't even moving at all. The light on the ceiling flickered a few times as they passed each floor in succession, watching as the numbers continued to fall with each few seconds. Chihiro had moved to press between Asahina and the furthest wall, clearly spooked but trying not to be as much of a bother with his fear. After all, anything could be waiting for them at this point. As soon as there was a slowing and a final *ding*, the doors slowly opened to a long but otherwise well-lit hallway that seemed to go on for quite sometime. It was dark at the end and not even Naegi could see if there was just a door at the end or something else entirely.

"Come on, we need to get out so were can send it back up." he ushered his classmates, lightly petting the programmer's head as he stepped out. Once the doors closed, he watched as once again the slight humming started and the numbers on the top panel started to hike. Hopefully, they were leaving them just enough time to follow them...

"We should probably find that shelter soon, dude. Get a head start in case we're being followed or anything." Leon piped up, thrusting a thumb in the direction of the open hall.

"Sure, down the creepy hallway that only leads to a big black darkness. Nothing to worry about." the swimmer muttered sarcastically but glared as Kuwata snorted in her direction. 

"You scared?"

"No, you moron, but it's just dangerous! What if those kids found a way down here? Or if some of the other classes are here and the shelter is too full? There are literally a million things that can go wrong!"

"Well, we won't exactly know until we go and see, right? I think it'll be alright." Naegi tried his best to smile, tried his best to be positive and hopeful for them, but it sounded so dry on his tongue because he was scared too. They had no idea what they were even looking for, let alone if it was going to help them or not. But his "rousing" words seemed to help their faces and they all started walking together.

It felt like years.

The bright walk-way was stale and echoed with each of their steps, but that was the only thing that could be heard as they were all plenty silent and plenty apprehensive, as if something was going to pop out at them. Nothing could be heard beyond the shining silver walls (Leon had put his ear to the wall to check once), like there wasn't really a war going on outside with death making the air smell like the end of the world had occurred. Every once and awhile Naegi would check behind him, looking to see if just maybe he would catch a glance of the rest of their classmates, maybe once again hear the elevator ding to announce that they had made it too. But nothing happened, no miracle voices calling out to them, no clicking of heels and sneakers running down the hall to greet them, nothing.

"Do you...think that it's possible the school is behind this?" Both Sayaka and Asahina blinked down as a timid Chihiro spoke up quietly, large eyes still fearful but clearly troubled by what he just voiced.

The resident baseball star looked down at him, arms crossed as he stopped walking along with the rest of the group. "What do you mean?"

"Well...this just seems so...wrong, you know? The Reserve Course students just broke in without anyone being able to stop them. I know that the Head of Security was super careful about making sure they had enough people to protect the school, to protect us. But they just broke in, like no one was even there. Doesn't...that seem odd?"

Naegi frowned, mostly because that was something he had been thinking about too. The fact that there had been almost no resistance to get into the Main Course building was odd but especially that there had been no security guards rushing to bar them back, take them down, detain them, anything. They were moving like the Plague, no one making a move to stop them. "Well...it is odd, yes. But I can't think of why the school would go through all that trouble to recruit us if they were just going to harm us later on."

Leon glanced at him. "Maybe then it's someone else? Like another student?"

"There's no way just one person could orchestrate all of this! They would have to have extreme inside tactics...or whatever, to actually convince all those kids to attack us!" Asahina protested, big blue eyes wide. She didn't want to believe either option. She didn't even want to admit to herself that this was happening right now.

"W-why not? If they had technology or someone on the inside of the school..." the programmer whimpered quietly.

"Look I'm sure that law enforcement is on its way to the school right now, right? And if they need more people, they'll call the government. I'm sure they'll take care of it." Naegi said, trying to calm them small group, offering a weak smile. "There's no way this will go unnoticed. This is Hope's Peak we're talking about."

And so, after a mumbled agreement, they continued walking on down the hallway, quiet once again as they all mulled over the accusation that Chihiro had brought up. Had it really been an inside job? But what exactly would the academy gain from something like that? Students would be hurt or killed, that wouldn't look good to the higher ups that looked after the school like hawks. It just didn't add up, like there was another puzzle piece that needed to fit into the puzzle, just one, that would paint a clear picture for them. Kirgiri probably already had an idea and the luckster felt a small twinge in his gut as he thought about her, still up there and in danger with the rest of his class. It was almost too much to bear.

But he didn't have to think about it much longer as finally, the darkness gave way to the vision of a simply wooden door, one that seemed to stand out among the chrome finish of the walls and floor, etched blue lights shining from either side of them.

"Is this...it?"

"It has to be..."

Leon moved to jiggle the golden handle, jumping slightly as the door actually opened up for them, creaking a little bit as it just made way into even more darkness. "Uhm..."

"Is that safe?" Asahina asked quietly, hands on Chihiro's small shoulders to hold him close to her, protectively.

"This is our only way to go forward." Naegi reminded her, nodding to Kuwata to continue through the door. They didn't really have very many choices at this point and the luckster didn't really want to stay in that creepily sterile hallway anymore. He nodded to his classmates before following the redhead inside, past the door, hopefully into a room or shelter this time.

The sudden and pungent smell of a rotting body and aging blood assaulted him like a slap in the face.

"Holy shit...holy shit..." He hadn't heard Leon's voice shake like that before, the cocky athlete was usually one of the few of them that hid his fear very well. But he couldn't exactly blame him as his eyes shifted to follow where pale blue ones were looking. The light in the room was dim, but it was obvious what that was on the floor, covered in blood.

There was a dead body in here.

Chihiro was already looking sick and the two girls behind them looked more emotionally distraught than anything else. Had the students already been down here? Was this person trying to escape too? That didn't matter much as to the fact that a lump seemed to sink into all their guts at the same time; they were killing people now? People were dying...

Naegi swallowed and felt his legs start to walk towards the un-moving form, despite his classmates hissing at him. He didn't even know what he was doing, how could he answer them? He ignored the smell, controlling his own gag reflex as he walked closer, the only noise between him and the deceased being his hesitant footsteps. Like it or not, he needed to see what had happened, to see if they were relating to what happened to them. God where was Kirigiri when you needed her...

It was a girl, and an Ultimate student going by the chocolate color of her uniform. Short hair was soaked pink almost to the roots at some parts and as Naegi moved closer, he could see numerous holes all over her body, from her chest to her feet, all still seeping blood onto the floor.

"How could someone...how could someone do this..." he whispered, horrified. Had one of the Reserve Course students done this? How could they kill someone so cruelly like this...

Kuwata moved closer as well, eyes scanning her over a few times. He seemed to be thinking the same thing that the luckster was. "What the hell man...what the actually fucking hell man?"

Everything was making his head swim at this point, like his whole world was shattering around him. He had always thought the world of Hope's Peak, always dreamed of being lucky (ha ha) enough to actually go there. Everything from the campus to the teachers to how much he loved his classmates made this opportunity a dream come true. And yet here he was, separated from most of his friends, running from students that he was now sure wanted them dead while they gathered around a deceased student in the basement. None of this seemed real...

"Wait...Nanami-san?" Chihiro's small voice sounded as he finally mustered the courage to walk closer. However, while the rest of them were horrified and scared at this sudden discovery, the programmer looked like he was about to cry.

"You...know her?" Asahina asked quietly. But the smaller student couldn't even answer her, falling to his knees as he just stared at the body before him, skirt pooling around his legs. No...no this couldn't be her...they had just spent time last weekend, talking about a new video game program they were going to work on together. They had laughed and played all night long, only parting ways once the curfew bell rang. There was no possible way she could be dead...

"H-how...how could..." He felt big fat tears start running down his cheeks, vision going blurry as his shaky hand reached out, touching the edge of a bloodied hand. He whimpered as he felt how cold she was, devoid of that soft life that had made it so easy to open up to her. How could someone kill someone like that, someone that was so kind, so caring that loved all of her friends... "W-why...why is this happening..."

"Hey, dude, come on..." Leon looked concerned, moving down to carefully help him back up onto his feet. He didn't want him getting bloodied. "She's gone, ya' can't do anything..."

"M-make it stop...make all of this stop!" He raised his voice an octave, which was still only slightly above a whisper, grabbing onto the baseball star's jacket as he shook. "W-why is this happening?! W-who killed her? Who's doing all this?!" He still didn't even want to believe that one of his peers was sitting dead at his feet.

Asahina could tell he was getting hysterical and took the small, trembling body into her arms so he could cry as much as he wanted in comfort. "I know that...Kyoko would know better than me, but...I think she's been dead for a day or so, guys."

Naegi blinked at that. But once he looked over the still form again, he could see that the swimmer had a point. Not only was she smelling something awful but seeing that rigor mortis had already seemed to set in, it was possible to conclude she hadn't died recently. So more than likely with that knowledge, plus the fact that they were still completely alone down here, the Reserve Course was innocent in this killing.

But that opened up a whole new sense of dread as Chihiro's initial question from before seemed to echo in his mind. If it hadn't been one of those students, then was it really the school? Were they responsible not only for the parade and anger of the Reserve Course but also the death of this student as well? Just leaving her down here to rot disrespectfully?

"I don't think that we can really figure out much else, not until Kirigiri takes a look at her. So, I think for now we should keep moving." Having looked everywhere he could besides the stinking body that was making him nauseous, he had spotted a pair of double doors.

"N-no! We have to...cover her, or something! Don't just leave her out here!" Asahina winced a little at Chihiro's sad little yelp. Sayaka even seemed to look more guilty of leaving a fellow peer than anything.

"As soon as this is all over, we'll go up to the ground floor and bury her." Naegi assured. "But right now, we need to try and get to a safe place so we can wait for the others." he frowned a little bit. "I'm sorry, Fujisaki..."

The programmer looked pained but didn't protest anymore, simply just looking away, burying half his face back in Asahina's chest. 

But he was right, they needed to stay safe and stay together right now. If they didn't, they might end up like poor Chiaki did...


End file.
